The Simple Life

This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it, therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. Luke  21:13-15  (ESV)   The tough times we face give us the most evident testimony of God's mercy and grace. None of us know what the future brings, so none can be truly prepared for what lies ahead. God knows the future and is and has been preparing His children for such a time. If we have been walking with Him, and enjoying Him, we will be ready for what is coming.   During the "crisis" times in life, we will be able to boldly proclaim victory as we live demonstrably in God's wisdom and power.   For those in God's family, those who focus on Him, the dark future is looking bright. For those in the family, there will be a sunrise. I am thankful.    

Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.” Luke  21:10-12  (ESV)   Nations are rising against nations. Earthquakes and volcanos are common, as are devastating storms. There seems to be continual famines and pestilence, and just yesterday, I read how the sun has some solar hiccups that will cause havoc to those on earth. During these challenging times, those who know God will be hated.   We seem to be in those times. Fear not, for when the end is near, the victory celebration is not far off for those identified with Jesus, who already conquered the final enemy, death.  

And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." Luke 21:5-6 (ESV)   It is hard to imagine the end of something. As we live, we think the way we are today will last forever. Yet, it is evident that things change, and, one day, all that we see today will be gone.   The walls of Jericho fell, Sodom and Gomorrah were instantly destroyed. The magnificent temple was destroyed. In their day, all who were part of any of these magnificent structures would consider it a tragedy that they were destroyed, and they would not have believed that the destruction could take place so quickly.   Everything we have in this life will one day belong to another, be thrown on the garbage pile, or be destroyed. The wise are those who live for the thing that will not and cannot be destroyed.

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." Luke 21:1-4 (ESV)   Is giving out of our abundance or giving things we no longer need or want truly giving? Am I considered generous if I give in a way that costs me nothing?   Would God ever condone the giving of everything I have? Would this even be "responsible?" If all I have belongs to God, if I am a steward or manager, am I the one giving? What does a greedy person look like? What does a generous person look like? This passage evokes these questions and more. It would be good to ponder these for a while.

"Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." Luke 20:46-47 (ESV)   Popularity in life never delivers true satisfaction in life. Those who focus on what people think about them tend to manipulate and use those people to foster their feelings of superiority and satisfaction. We will always be in danger when we place "self" on the pedestal.   A society that prides itself on each man doing what is best for themselves is doomed to failure. That mind frame creates many subcultures that often become desperate in their attempt to equalize life's experiences. Since the norm is to justify each man in their own eyes, regulatory forces are viewed as the enemy of the people.   We need to beware of those who are motivated by adoring fans,...

“Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him." Luke 20:38 (ESV)   Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Daniel, Paul, Peter, and Timothy are alive and well in the presence of God. God gives us life during our lifetime and life at death. When we are in the presence of God, we enjoy life as it was meant to be.   It seems easy to focus on our lives today, and rarely do we see today as a springboard for eternity.   As I write this, my mom and dad are doing something. Moses, Elijah, and the Apostle Paul are up to something, as are Adam and Eve.   God does not have perspective. We do. When we lose perspective, we become miserable individualists who live by the mantra "each man does what is right in their own eyes." When a society degenerates to that level, misery is more abundant than joy. It does not need to be this way.

"Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's." He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Luke 20:24-25 (ESV)   We have responsibilities to our governing authorities. We need not agree with all our political leaders, and we certainly do not need to agree with how they use the resources they extract from us.   If we were to stop supporting government or businesses that did not use our resources properly, we would pay no taxes and buy nothing, for all men are sinful.   We often choose the most acceptable sins, and support those people causes and institutions with whom we agree. We then boycott those whose sins we find bothersome.  Paying taxes to an evil government is not wrong. Those who cheat others will be held accountable for their actions.   My trust should always be in God, not myself, my resources, or my government.

So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's." He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Luke 20:20-25 (ESV)   Religious people love to get into horizontal pursuits. For some reason, they seem to enjoy inventing conspiracy theories and looking for reasons to distinguish themselves from the crowd. Yet, the one thing a true believer does not need to do is work at being different. If they love God and people, they...

The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. Luke 20:19 (ESV)   The chief priests demonstrate humankind's general problem. We tend to be upset with the fact that someone points out our problems while ignoring the problem. These leaders were upset because they "perceived" that Jesus was talking about them. Whenever the Bible speaks of a sinner, it is talking about me.   During my athletic days, our coaches were bold and blunt when speaking of our errors. They wanted to make sure we understood our mistakes so we could correct our actions.   If you care about winning and want to participate in the victory, you should value those willing to challenge you with the truth.  These scribes and chief priests cared more about appearances than victory and ultimately lost out in the game of life.   What is it we care about?    

And he began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.' And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "Surely not!" B...

One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority." He answered them, "I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?" Luke 20:1-4 (ESV)   Some want to play a game with God, not realizing that God knows the game we are playing, knows how to win against us, and never loses. I will never outthink God. I will never manipulate God. I will never outsmart God.   I can be impressed with my rhetoric, status, and achievements because I compare them to someone who has less. God is in a category where He has no comparisons and will never be persuaded by my reasoning.   It is always best to position ourselves to learn from God. Every other position will prove futile. Dave Wager https://nightime.podbean.com/ https://davewager.podbean.com/...

And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers." Luke 19:45-46 (ESV)   God's house should be about God, not us. It is not a place of business. It is not about democracy. It is not about comfort. It is not a place to worship music. It is a place to worship God.   I often wonder what Jesus would do if He walked into the modern Evangelical church in America today. Perhaps he would be pleased; perhaps he would toss us out.   If Satan could slowly move the church from being about God to being about us, he could destroy us, and we would have no clue as to the reason. Satan is clever, and our only protection is living in and evaluating our lives in God's Word.

"And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it…." Luke 19:41 (ESV)   Jesus wept over a city. One must wonder why. What exactly did the creator and sustainer of the universe see that caused Him to weep?   What it is that causes me to weep?   Jesus wept right before he raised Lazarus from the dead. Now He wept over Jerusalem. It seems evident from the following verse that Jesus wept over the fact that the people choose to remain ignorant. (saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.’ Luke 19:42 (ESV))   Their decisions were forcing them to live outside the realm of peace that God intended for them to experience. The miserable lives they led were a result of their miserable thinking. It was not and is not the way it is meant to be. Jesus always could see the reasons why we were created and must have continually fought a heavy heart because of our intentional ignorance.   ...

And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." Luke 19:36-40 (ESV)   Those who have the authority do not need to prove anything. Those who do not have power and authority usually try to destroy those who do because their power comes through fear and manipulation.   Leadership often catalyzes groups into two major groups. Some are jealous and hate the leaders regardless of what they accomplish, and others worship the leaders to a fault. This is the only case where the worshiping of...

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, "Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: 'The Lord has need of it.'" Luke 19:28-31 (ESV)   Often, when God gives instructions, I understand the instruction but do not understand the "whys" surrounding the instruction. I have concluded that I do not need to understand simple instructions; I just need to follow them.   Adam and Eve understood the simple instructions that God gave concerning the tree in the garden, yet, when they overthought it, and tried to make sense of it (at the encouragement of Satan), they made a mistake. Achan thought a little reward for himself was a good idea (Joshua 7) ...

"Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" Luke 17:7-10 (ESV)   "We used to be roused and stirred by the clarion call of duty, as well as soothed and comforted by the tender breathings of love. And here the call comes to us loud and clear, waxing even louder as we listen and reflect. ‘Do your duty; and when you have done it, however laborious and painful it may be, remember that you have only done your duty. Do not give yourselves airs of complacency, as though you had achieved some great thing. Do not gi...